Key facts:
• The project will cost US$4bn, with US$2.1bn from the U.S. Department of Energy;
• Solar Millenium, who is in charge of the project alongside Chevron, estimates it will take six years to complete all four 242 MW units;
• When completed, the Blythe Solar Plant will triple the current 585 megawatts of installed commercial-scale solar generation in the United States;
• The plant will generate enough electricity to power 300,000 homes;
• The area of the project is 7,025 acres;
• 1,000 jobs will be created in the first phase of the construction while hundreds of jobs will be created on a permanent basis;
• The Blythe Project represents a significant step toward meeting state requirements to obtain 33% of energy from renewable sources by 2020, as mandated by bill SBX1-2 signed by Governor Brown in April 2011.
• The Department of Energy is working on 19 renewable energy projects on public lands as part of a drive to secure the country’s energy future.
• Most of the projects are in the West. California’s 270 total renewable energy projects, including the Blythe Solar Power and Terragen’s Alta-Oak Creek wind power project, also the World’s largest wind project, are estimated to create 5,390 new construction jobs and 400 permanent jobs in California.
• Upon completion, these power plants will generate 3,470 megawatts of energy, or 6% of California’s peak energy requirement, which is enough to power more than 1.4 million single-family homes.
• In 2010, the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies surveyed 12 solar, wind, and geothermal projects and found an average of 4,258 jobs would be created per month during construction.
• These projects would also bring nearly 1,000 long-term operation and maintenance jobs to California.
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